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There have been strong evidence showing a declining trend of firm dynamism in many other OECD countries over the last three decades. However, so far there has no compelling evidence that points to any intrinsic factor(s) that may have affected the trend of declining firm dynamism. This paper investigates some potential candidates for the intrinsic factors that might be responsible for the decline in firm dynamism. Specifically, it hypothesises that globalisation and ICT (information and communication technology) have increased the flexibility in business operation, which has contributed to the decline in firm dynamics because firms can better weather positive/negative shocks with increasing business flexibility. Using data from Canada, we find empirical support for the linkage between business flexibility and firm dynamics in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Recently, studies call for a more nuanced perspective on different internationalization patterns pursued by early internationalizers. These studies argue that most born global firms turn out to be born regional and that the proportion of true born global firms would be overestimated. Moreover, literature claims that the proportion of born global firms increases over time due to macroeconomic trends. The purpose of this paper is to investigate these assumptions by providing a dynamic perspective on the prevalence of different types of internationalization patterns among Canadian small and medium-sized exporters (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach – To empirically examine the ideas above, the authors constructed a unique large-scale longitudinal (1997-2004) dataset. A multinomial logit model is employed to estimate a firm's predicted probability, Ceteris paribus, of choosing different internationalization patterns: born global, born regional, and gradual internationalization. Findings – It is found that born global firms indeed account for a smaller proportion than born regional firms (16 per cent vs 27 per cent). However, evidence is found that born globals and born regionals are increasingly established over time and that macroeconomic factors seem to account for this development, at least partially. Originality/value – Combining a rigorous empirical analysis with a unique large-scale longitudinal dataset, the paper addresses two fundamental research questions in the international entrepreneurship (IE) literature: which internationalization pattern prevails; and if the born global pattern is increasingly established over time. The paper therewith theoretically contributes by comparing the predictive value of different internationalization frameworks (international new venture (INV) framework, stage-models and regionalization hypothesis), toward which there is considerable current debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper employs a unique large-scale longitudinal (1997–2005) dataset to investigate the pattern of foreign market entry by 6,079 Canadian exporters. We have found that fewer firms are choosing the United States as their initial export destination. This trend suggests that a growing number of firms are not following the traditional stage model of internationalization. Furthermore, our results suggest that government support should be targeted towards young and small Canadian-controlled firms, since they are more likely than established firms to encounter barriers and to gain benefits from exporting to a wider range of foreign markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]